1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle that is provided with a removable soft top or a hardtop that utilizes the same roof architecture for securing either the soft top or the hardtop to the other parts of the roof structure.
2. Background Art
Vehicles are generally designed to be either hardtop vehicles or convertible vehicles. Most convertible vehicles are either of the soft top or retractable hardtop variety. In the past, some vehicles were initially manufactured as hardtop vehicles, but were converted to a convertible vehicle design by cutting off the roof, reinforcing the body and installing a convertible top in place of the hardtop. While this approach is suitable for low volume production, this process of providing a convertible top vehicle is not economical.
Manufacturers have a need to provide customers with hardtop vehicles or soft top vehicles while meeting manufacturing cost targets. There is also a need for a vehicle roof architecture that eliminates the need to provide reinforcements for stiffening the body when a soft top is installed on a vehicle.
There is a further need for a vehicle that can be used by a consumer as either a hardtop vehicle or as a soft top vehicle. It would be advantageous to provide a vehicle design that provides both a hardtop roof that may be removed from the vehicle and replaced with a soft top roof. The soft top roof can be converted from a covering soft top orientation to a stored condition with the roof being open above the passenger compartment.
These and other problems and needs are addressed by Applicant's invention as summarized below.